Acoustic-Electromagnetic Hybrid Localization for Remote Devices
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for localizing remote devices in sensor networks are inefficient in noisy environments and require expensive GPS systems, which increase energy consumption and costs, and often lack accurate position determination, especially in applications like home automation and logistics.
Innovation Solution
A system using a combination of acoustic and electromagnetic waves to determine the position of remote devices, employing 'lighthouses' that emit acoustic pulses and receive acknowledge signals, processed by a radio base to calculate device positions using a robust algorithm, immune to noise and environmental disturbances.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If GPS systems are used for localization, then position determination accuracy is improved, but device cost and energy consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces GPS (electromagnetic satellite-based system) with an acoustic localization system using sound waves and time-of-flight measurements. The localization is achieved by measuring the time it takes for acoustic signals to travel between devices, substituting the mechanical/satellite-based GPS approach with an acoustic wave-based system that consumes less energy and costs less.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces acoustic waves as an intermediary medium for localization. Instead of direct satellite-to-receiver electromagnetic communication (GPS), the system uses acoustic signals as intermediaries that travel between devices, enabling position determination through time-of-flight measurement of these intermediate acoustic messages.
2Device complexity
If traditional localization methods are used, then implementation is simple, but reliability in noisy environments deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where devices exchange localization messages multiple times and use iterative refinement. The system sends out acoustic localization signals, receives responses, measures time-of-flight, and refines position estimates through repeated exchanges, allowing the system to filter out noise and improve reliability through feedback-based error correction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary synchronization and calibration before actual localization. Devices establish time synchronization and acoustic channel characteristics in advance, preparing the system beforehand to handle noisy environments more effectively during the actual position determination process.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables reliable and cost-effective localization of remote devices in noisy environments with high accuracy, reducing production costs and energy consumption, and facilitating mass production of devices.
Implementation Method 1
a system of transmitters of an acoustical kind for the emission of acoustic signals
Implementation Method 2
a system of transmitters of an electromagnetic kind for the emission of electromagnetic signals
Implementation Method 3
measuring the time of flight of the acoustic wave from the acoustic wave transmitter to the electromagnetic wave transmitter
Data Source
Figure 1
AI summary
Localization of remote devices by means of: the emission of pulses from acoustic transmitters, whose wavefronts propagate in the space region occupied by the remote devices and finally reach them; the emission of radiofrequency pulses from each remote device at the instant of time of the detection of said wavefront by an on-board microphone; the acquisition, by a radio base, of the radiofrequency signals propagating from the remote devices, which allow to evaluate the arrival time delays proportional to the distance between the i-th acoustic source and the j-th remote device; the formation of a reception vector for each emission by the i-th source, this vector having a maximum length M equal to the number of remote devices and consisting of the sequence of distances obtained as the product of the reception times and the estimated sound velocity. The above steps are repeated for all acoustic sources, in order to form N+l reception vectors, from which one calculates the position of the device by solving the derived matrix equations.